Page 52 of To Tame An Angel

Her mouth parted, and I saw the desire in her eyes.

“I’d like to eat you out,” I said.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

NALLA

The hours felt like a blur, and I lost track of them. We fucked, we slept, we ate. At one point, we even laughed. We lived in a world of lingering, of perusing one another while discovering our body’s soft spots. When I woke from our fifth nap, Tannor’s head was on my stomach and his muscled arms gripped my hips as he snored on my belly. I found myself caressing his hair and admiring the rise of his ass. But the longer the bliss continued, the more my thoughts soured. Time passed too quickly, too swiftly, and soon we wouldn’t be able to hide in rooms. As all women, I would be required to report to court and take my first assignment, likely under my mother.

From that moment on, the nights I’d be able to spend with Tannor would be limited. Most women didn’t seem to mind, for they enjoyed the war parades and expeditions to the south, ensuring our borders were safe. But none had dared attack our lands in over a century. All I cared about was my sisters and the man resting on top of me. The thought of mother wanting to hurt, kill, and torture him haunted me. Overwhelmed by fear, I was plagued by the fear that I was incapable of keeping him safe, and my relentless pursuit of something tangible would only bring him misery. Would it have been better if I’d simply broken him from the beginning? Or even allowed him to fall to his death on that cliff?

Manifesting my festering thoughts, the door to our room was thrown open and Tannor was instantly on his feet, crouching before me on the defense. A blade was already in my hand as I stared transfixed when my mother walked in. The blood drained from my face, and my skin went cold and clammy. Her eyes were sharp, like a nestled eagle studying the prey below.

She regarded Tannor with little amusement and a snarled lip. This went against our entire agreement. I still had two more days. Tannor slowly stood and took a step back, but still clearly protecting me. Mother didn’t move. She simply stared at us with a displeased gaze.

“Get dressed and leave him chained,” she instructed and pivoted on her heels. Her black cape fluttered behind her as she closed the door with a resounding thud.

My heart was in my ears and my breath turned panicked. Tannor was pale himself, still attempting to understand the severity of the situation.

“Brand me now. Do it quickly,” he said, taking my shoulders.

“No. This won’t be how I’ll do it,” I said and pulled back, but captured his face with my hands, attempting reassurance.

“You should’ve branded me already,” he said, his jaw tight, so tight it might crack.

I said nothing and tossed a dress over my head, clasping it at the shoulder with trembling fingers. In my head, I prepared myself for the nightmare I was about to encounter. The questions I would have to answer and the verbal gymnastics I’d have to perform to keep my mother and her power at bay. She would break me if she had to, if she thought it would save me. She would break Tannor, and I wasn’t ready to digest those implications. I needed to ensure his safety, no matter what. The moment I left that door, I was a warrior of Actasia and Tannor was mine.

Tannor saw the change in my demeanor. I pointed to the chains we’d not used since the first night I captured him and dragged him back. His face slacked and his eyes darkened. This was not play, he knew that. There was nothing sexual about it. Chaining him now would show his rank as my slave, but there was no getting around that.

“No,” he stepped back, a flush covered his cheeks.

We stared at one another. It was a battle; one he knew he wouldn’t be able to win. One I don’t wish to have.

“Tannor—”

“And that’s how it’ll be, won’t it?” he snapped, turning and grasping the chain, making it rattle loudly in the room. He dragged the long metal to me and pushed it into my hands with a hard gaze. “Go ahead,” his words were clipped. “Chain me like the dog I am.”

I yanked the chain and opened the cuff, clasping it around his wrist. I heard him swallow and my fingers lingered on his skin, looking up at him. His eyes were downcast, and I paused.

“She won’t kill me,” I said with urgency. “She’ll kill you.”

“But she’ll hurt you and I’ll not be able to do much chained like this,” he snarled and lifted his chained hand.

With a sad smile, I closed the other cuff over his remaining hand. “You think I can’t handle it? Give me credit, my angel. I wouldn’t have hunted you through a dark forest for nearly two days if I wasn’t resilient. I’ve been trained since childhood.”

The chains looked and felt wrong on him. He didn’t even fight me; he seemed to sink down when I clasped the link around the pillar. I looked back at him, standing chained and worried. Almost dejected. I wanted to tell him all would be well, but I was admittedly uncertain. Thinking that they would come for him while I was gone, I pulled the key from my drawer. I tossed it to him, and he caught it. He stared at his hand and then back at me.

“Put it in your mouth. If they come for you while I’m gone, leave. Don’t look back,” I said. My words trembled at the thought of never seeing him again.

We gazed at one another, and he took a step toward me.

“I don’t wish to leave without you.” His words were low, raw, and real.

I didn’t answer him because I was petrified of my answer. Of what it would mean. Of the sudden pain deep in my heart at the thought of returning to my room and finding him gone. To spend the rest of my life wondering if he escaped and if he was happy. If he’d learned to love another not bound by family obligations and a corroded society.

Clutching all of my words at my throat, I turned from him, effectively giving him my answer.

My mother lingered in the stables. She inspected my horses as four of her angel-men stood in the distance, armed and staring at me with dead eyes. One of them I helped train myself. He’d been nothing more than practice.

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